Presidential decree puts sovereign investment expert Omar al-Halabi at the head of Syria’s Sovereign Fund
A presidential decree appoints engineer Omar Samer al-Halabi as economic adviser to the presidency and chairman of the Syrian Sovereign Fund. Read the full text of the decree and the new chairman's biography.
Damascus, 18 October 2026 | Prepared by: Construction and Investment Prime (CIP)
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has issued Decree No. 191 of 2026, appointing engineer Omar Samer al-Halabi as Economic Adviser to the Presidency and President of the Board of Directors of the Syrian Sovereign Fund, succeeding Tourism Minister Mazen al-Salhani, who had chaired the board since the fund’s establishment.
The appointment places specialized economic leadership at the head of the state’s investment arm, at a time when the fund manages a planned project portfolio worth 100 billion dollars, including the “New Damascus” project with the UAE’s Arada Group, valued at 7 billion dollars.
The text of the decree
SANA published the full text of the decree, which reads:
Article 1: Engineer Omar Samer al-Halabi is appointed Economic Adviser to the Presidency of the Republic.
Article 2: Engineer Omar Samer al-Halabi is added to the membership of the Supreme Council for Economic Development, formed under Decree No. 115 of 2025.
Article 3: Engineer Omar Samer al-Halabi is named President of the Board of Directors of the Sovereign Fund, formed under Decree No. 250 of 2025, in addition to his duties; the remaining members remain unchanged.
Article 4: All provisions contrary to this decree are repealed.
Article 5: This decree shall be communicated to those concerned for implementation.
Who is Omar al-Halabi?
Al-Halabi brings more than 20 years of professional experience working with governments, sovereign institutions and the private sector across the Middle East and international markets, in economic policy, institution building and sovereign investment.
He served as Partner and Head of Economic Consulting and Public Policy for the Middle East at KPMG, and previously worked with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. He also spent nearly a decade at Johnson Controls, holding leadership roles in strategy and business development in the Middle East.
His expertise spans industrial development, trade and investment, labour market policy and private-sector development, as well as economic and financial valuation, deal structuring and the development of investment instruments.
Al-Halabi holds a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications engineering from Misr University for Science and Technology, an MBA with distinction from IE Business School in Madrid, studied public policy analysis at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and completed executive programmes at MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Business School and the School of Management at Fudan University in China.
Why it matters to investors
The appointment comes at the head of a fund described as the Syrian state’s investment arm in the reconstruction phase. According to figures disclosed by fund officials during the Syrian–Emirati forum in May 2026, its portfolio includes:
- Planned investment projects worth 100 billion dollars.
- A land portfolio exceeding 70 million square metres across 47 sites inside Syria.
- Around 2,000 properties with an estimated value of up to 2.5 billion dollars, spanning tourism, commercial, administrative and real-estate assets.
- 36 specialised sectors and 11 central companies employing more than 40,000 staff and workers.
At the forefront of this portfolio is the “New Damascus” project, whose agreement the fund signed with the UAE’s Arada Group on 31 August 2026, valued at 7 billion dollars, on 4 million square metres west of the capital, including 11,000 housing units, a 300-bed hospital and educational facilities for 5,000 students.
In the telecom file, the fund was announced to hold a 25% stake in the company operating the second mobile licence, against 75% for Zain Group, with the 20-year licence valued at 747 million dollars, planned investments exceeding 1.5 billion dollars, and commercial launch set for early 2027.
Finance Minister Mohammad Yusr Barnieh has affirmed that the fund aims to support institutional investment and economic development, not to compete with the private sector, and that its assets and returns belong to the Syrian state.
In the same context, President al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 190 of 2026 appointing Maher al-Hassan as CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, as part of a restructuring of economic leadership.
Sources:
- Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) — text of Decree 191: https://sana.sy/presidency/2610221/
- Al Jazeera Net: Al Jazeera Net
- AFP via Swissinfo: Swissinfo
- Syria 24: https://www.sy-24.com/196378/
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